Shopping for security upgrades

In its latest survey, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimated that theft cost the retail sector £953 million in the 12-month period to April 2023. When members of the BRC across ten major cities were asked, they reported a 27% rise in theft, and perhaps more alarmingly, just under half (44%) rated the police response to serious retail crimes as poor or very poor.

In response, retailers lobbied the UK Home Secretary, urging for more policing resources to help control the
rising level of crime, and major retailers like John Lewis are reported to be working with the police to share more CCTV footage and other intelligence with them. Meanwhile, the industry spent £700 million on increasing security for their stores.